On Friday, February 17, I had wavelight lasik performed on my eyes at Joffe Medi-Center in Houston. I figured I’d attempt to describe the experience for anyone out there interested in getting lasik. I read some blogs before my procedure and I found them helpful. Perhaps I can return the favor.
I didn’t think I’d be a candidate for lasik. I was extremely nearsighted and had pretty bad astigmatism on top of it. My prescription was about -10.75 in one eye and -11.25 in the other. My hope was that I would be able to correct my vision enough to be able to buy normal eyeglasses or maybe even contacts and save myself about $750 a year (before insurance benefits) in new eyeglasses. My biggest fear was that I would end up with debilitating halos or star bursts, which would make driving at night difficult.
After doing a lot of research, I finally settled on Joffe and had my initial consultation at the end of October. I was actually a candidate for surgery. The doctor said I had a decent chance of correcting down to needing glasses only for driving. That boggled my mind. It was better than I expected.
On February 17, Steve and I drove to the center for my 1:15 p.m. appointment. We were a bit early, but didn’t have to wait at all before getting the process started. First was the paperwork and the payment, then they gave me 5 mg of diazepam to help calm me. I’ve had diazepam before for an MRI (I’m claustrophobic) and learned that 5 mg doesn’t do anything for me. I need 10 mg, but I took the 5 and hoped for the best. For the record, I never felt a thing.
Once the paperwork was done, Ashley took me and Steve to a room adjacent the surgical area. It had a nice massage chair that I took advantage of whilst Ashley went over my post-op instructions. I had to put antibiotic and steroid drops in my eyes twice a day for seven days. I also had to put artificial tears in my eyes every 30 minutes I was awake on Day One, then every hour the next day. I could shower and get my face wet so long as I didn’t squeeze my eyes shut. No saunas. No swimming. After surgery, I was encouraged to go home and sleep. Once the anesthetic wore off, my eyes would be uncomfortable. It was best to sleep through it, if possible. Ashley then covered my head in a very attractive surgical cap (please note the sarcasm).
Dr. Merkley arrived at this time. He would be doing the procedure and he sat and talked with me for awhile about my eyes. He told me that he normally shied away from doing lasik on anyone beyond -10 diopters. I, of course, was a -11. He closely examined all of my test results and eye mapping that had been done previously and was satisfied that my cornea was thick enough. He wanted to make sure I had enough corneal thickness for this procedure and a refinement one later if I chose without jeopardizing the health of the cornea. He told me again that I would probably only need glasses for driving, but there was no real way of knowing. Every eye behaves differently.
I expressed my concern about the halos. He was very upfront with me. Everyone has some kind of mild abnormality in their vision, but we just get used to it. My prescription increased my chances of such abnormality growing more noticeable. He assured me, however, that he did not think I would suffer significant problems. I trusted him and agreed to carry on. With that, it was time for Steve to move to the viewing area and for me to move inside the surgical room.
I honestly couldn’t believe I was actually doing this as I walked into the room, being led by the technicians. I didn’t have my glasses and navigating in the unfamiliar room was hazardous. They first checked my eyes in one of the machines and then I was taken to the laser. I lay down with my head cradled in a donut-shaped holder. It was a somewhat uncomfortable angle, but got better when they put a cushion under my knees. They gave me a football to squeeze, since I was very nervous, and then it began.
They taped my left eye closed and then they put tape over the lashes of my right eye. Several drops of local anesthetic was put in my eye to numb it. The doctor inserted a plastic ring to hold open my eye. That was uncomfortable because my eyes are really small. I was instructed to focus on the blinking green light. The next part was really uncomfortable. In order to cut the flap in the cornea necessary for the procedure, the doctor has to attach the device to your eye with suction. While I could feel nothing on the eye itself, I could feel the pressure from the suction and that was unnerving, unpleasant, and very uncomfortable. At this point, you lose your vision briefly. I wasn’t frightened by this because Ashley kept a running commentary going of what was happening and what I would experience. That helped a great deal with keeping me calm, cool, and collected.
Once the flap was completed, the pressure reduced. Now it was time to reshape my cornea. A friend of mine mentioned that there is a “distinctive” odor as the laser zaps away corneal cells. He was not kidding. It is not a gross smell, necessarily, but it’s not pleasant, either. Because of my prescription was so intense, the procedure took several minutes each eye. Once the laser was done, I could see the doctor smooth the flap back in place and then dab my eye. The little cotton swab he used looked red, so I’m assuming there was blood. Once that was done, the retainer ring was removed and my left eye was patched.
The left eye went the same as the right, although it needed a bit more anesthetic. Within a few minutes, both eyes were done, uncovered, and I was sitting up. I looked into the doctor’s eyes (the only thing visible above his surgical mask) and could actually see them! Me, the person who literally could not see beyond the end of her own nose, could look into the eyes of the surgeon standing two feet away. My vision was very swimmy, understandably, but that was pretty damn cool.
I was given some pretty cool looking sunglasses to wear both outside and whenever I sleep. They’re designed to protect my eyes from bumps and pokes during the night. I have to wear them for a week. We drove home and I climbed into bed. The anesthetic was already wearing off and my eyes felt scratchy and uncomfortable. They watered profusely. At one point, I woke up from a nap and when I opened my eyes, I actually felt a rush of tears spill down my face. It felt like a waterfall!
About two hours after we got home, a pain in my right eye woke me from a dead sleep. It was a sharp pain, like an elastic snapping, that dissolved into a throb. It felt like it was throbbing all the way into the back of my eyeball. I was scared. It hurt, but I’ve felt worse pain, but I ended up crying. I was regretting having the procedure. I was uncomfortable and now I was in pain. Luckily, I had some hydrocodone left from an earlier prescription. I took one and the pain melted away within about 20 minutes. Steve stayed with me, bless his heart, and stroked my hair and calmed my battered nerves until I fell back asleep.
I slept most of the afternoon and evening. I called Mom and spoke to her and Robert for a bit, telling them about my experience and about how I could see things from across the room. They were swimmy and blurry, but I could see them!
The next morning, I woke up, looked at the alarm clock, and I could see the numbers! No more rolling over and putting my nose against the clock to check the time. My post-op check was at 8 a.m., so we were up early. I showered, but opted not to wash my hair. I didn’t want to risk getting shampoo in my eyes. It was surreal to take a shower and actually see everything in the stall. Now if Steve moves a shampoo bottle, I’ll be able to tell right away.
We arrived at the doctor’s office with about four or five other patients. I was the second one back. A technician did a quick reading test on me. I tested at 20/30! Then I moved to another room and waited for the doctor. I figured I’d see Dr. Merkley himself because of my high prescription. I mentioned my suspicion to Steve just as Dr. Merkley walked in the door. He said my eyes were healing well. I told him about the pain the previous night and he said there was a small edge that wasn’t lying flat yet. He suspected that was what was causing the pain. He then told me that my 20/30 vision was legal for driving. I was gobsmacked! Not even twenty-four hours after lasik and I went from being hopelessly blind to being able to legally drive without glasses.
My eyes are not overly dry, which is nice. I have to put drops in them at least once every two hours. That will be my routine for the next month. I pretty much just administer the drops whenever my eyes feel a bit dry, itchy, or gritty. I still napped some on Day Two because my eyes got tired. One thing I noticed was I have a very narrow strip of usable near sight. I’m over 40, so presbyopia is already doing a number to my eyes. When I wore glasses, I just pulled them down my nose an inch or so to read. Now, I’m the stereotypical 40-something holding things out at arm’s length to try and see them. That’s very frustrating. I have to do a lot of reading, so something needs to be done about that.
I also have major luggage under my eyes because of swelling. I know it will eventually go away, but I do have an issue with circles and the like because of my chronic sinus problems. I don’t have glasses behind which to hide, anymore, so I’m very aware of how old and haggard I currently look. After I pass the one-week mark, I’ll be able to look into concealer. For now, though, it’s au naturel. Fun.
Still, it’s pretty damn awesome to stand in front of a mirror and see my reflection from a couple of feet away. I could get used to this.
